The $73-million, 43-acre near-dock rail facility in the port's southport containerized cargo area will be used to transfer domestic and international shipping containers between ship and rail and will replace FEC's existing 12-acre intermodal yard, which is currently located several miles from Port Everglades on Andrews Avenue in Fort Lauderdale.

In addition to installing the rail and crane pads, buildings are under construction and the road to the facility is ready to be paved.

The Port Everglades ICTF will allow FEC to build 9,000-foot unit trains within the facility without blocking any city streets and will allow cargo to move through Port Everglades to/from Atlanta and Charlotte in two days and Nashville and Memphis in three days.

Construction costs are estimated to total $53 million and are being funded with an $18-million grant from the Florida Department of Transportation's (FDOT) Strategic Intermodal System program, a $30 million FDOT State Infrastructure Bank loan to FEC and $5 million from FEC.